Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

अधोमुखा ऊर्ध्व पादाः पीड्यंते यत्र लंबिताः । पञ्चमासिकदानेन मुक्तिस्तेषां प्रजायते

Transliteration

adhomukhā ūrdhva pādāḥ pīḍyaṃte yatra laṃbitāḥ | pañcamāsikadānena muktisteṣāṃ prajāyate

Translation

ณ ที่นั้น พวกเขาถูกทรมานขณะห้อยหัวลง—หน้าคว่ำลง เท้าชี้ฟ้า การทำทานทุกห้าเดือนจะช่วยให้พวกเขาหลุดพ้น

Word by Word

• adhomukhāḥ: facing downward
• adhomukhāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhas + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; avyayībhāva/tatpuruṣa sense ‘adho-mukha’ = ‘face downward’ used adjectivally

• ūrdhva: upward
• ūrdhva: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana (agreeing with pādāḥ); used as qualifier

• pādāḥ: feet
• pādāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• pīḍyante: are tortured
• pīḍyante: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pīḍ (पीड् धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Ātmanepada, Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Bahuvacana; karmaṇi-prayoga (passive): ‘are tormented’

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Deśavyaya (relative adverb: where)

• lambitāḥ: hung (suspended)
• lambitāḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √lamb (लम्ब् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kṛdanta (past passive participle), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; ‘hung/suspended’

• pañcamāsikadānena: by a five-month donation
• pañcamāsikadānena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pañca + māsika + dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुṃsaka/puṃliṅga? (here instrumental singular as abstract act), Tṛtīyā-vibhakti (Instrumental/3rd), Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: ‘pañca-māsikaṃ dānam’ (a five-month offering)

• muktiḥ: release; liberation
• muktiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine), Prathamā, Ekavacana

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Bahuvacana (pronoun)

• prajāyate: arises; is produced
• prajāyate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√jan (जन् धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Ātmanepada, Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṣāroda (Naraka)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sufferers hang inverted over a harsh landscape, bound by ropes or hooks, faces downward; below, a symbolic offering scene—hands giving alms—suggesting the five-monthly dāna as rescue.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dāna is presented as a powerful dharmic remedy that can counteract suffering and support deliverance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it focuses on a form of punishment and the remedy of dāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pañcamāsika dāna—an offering/gift associated with a five-month observance.